The Lawsuit We Should All Fear

​Well, the circle of life is about to become the circle of lawsuits unless a judge does the right thing and throws out one of the most frivolous lawsuits in years. Comedian Learnmore Jonasi was recently on the One54 Africa podcast discussing the award-winning song “Circle of Life” from 1994’s “The Lion King.” He made a joke about the African words used to open the song, and is now being sued for $27 million for libel by the song’s writer. As a professional comedian, this lawsuit terrifies me way more than Will Smith walking up to Chris Rock, as the ramifications of such a lawsuit could shape the actual future of stand-up and comedy in general. What we have here is a young comic trying to make people laugh and an old man too stubborn and obtuse to get the joke. And if this old man wins, don’t be surprised if companies and government officials go after your favorite comic next.   

What Actually Went Down
People Magazine reported, “Grammy Award-winning composer Lebohang Morake, known professionally as Lebo M, filed a lawsuit on March 16 in California against comedian Learnmore Jonasi (nee Learnmore Mwanyenyeka). Jonasi went viral in a clip from the One54 Africa podcast for allegedly making ‘false statements of fact about the meaning of the ‘Nants’ingonyama’ composition.’”
The article went on to state, “Jonasi is being sued for misleading representation in violation of the Lantham Act, defamation per se, trade libel and tortious interference with prospective economic advantage. In the One54 Africa podcast clip, Jonasi claims that the chant, ‘Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba’ translates to ‘Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god.’ The complaint alleges that Jonasi ‘presented this as authoritative fact, not comedy,’ and that in doing so he ‘mocked the chant’s cultural significance with exaggerated imitations.’”

The complaint also adds, “The true meaning of Nants’ ingonyama bagithi Baba is ‘All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.’”

Adding insult to injury, Jonasi was served lawsuit papers while on stage at The Laugh Factory, in front of hundreds of fans enjoying the show. None of this was handled well by Lebo M. Why couldn’t he and his team just reach out to the comic to discuss the translation on a podcast or behind closed doors, hug it out and move on? Clearly, Jonasi doesn’t have $27 million, so if their goal is to financially ruin him — after “The Lion King” made millions from the film, stage play and albums — then this feels petty. 

How Can This Effect Stand Up?
Most likely this will die on the vine, but if it doesn’t, it will open a Pandora’s box of lawsuits. Imagine Hot Pockets suing Jim Gaffigan for his jokes about the microwaveable pastry. And if Lebo M wins, Hot Pockets could go back 20 years claiming Gaffigan hurt sales by showing timelines of when the jokes started and any bad quarter or year they’ve had since. 

Imagine politicians suing late night talk show hosts for political satire. Oh wait.

In fact, this lawsuit could be what the Donald Trump legal team needs to finally take down all of their comedy antagonists. What Lebo M is doing essentially makes him the snowflake MAGA of the contemporary Broadway showtunes scene. This is what happens to people after they lose the limelight and are so rich they’re bored. They just have to jump back in — no matter who they hurt. 

Maybe there is a cultural misunderstanding, as in America there are First Amendment laws protecting free speech. This situation reminds me of when Jerry Falwell sued Larry Flynt for claiming the pious pastor had sex with his mother in an outhouse. Luckily, the Supreme Court saw the lawsuit as foolish, but not before Flynt went to jail multiple times. 

Final Thoughts
One of the reasons America works is because of our ability to use humor to create commerce. This doesn’t happen in other countries the way it does here. It’s why so many comedians from foreign countries come here to build a career. I have stand-up comic friends who go around the world and tell me the comedy scenes are nonexistent compared to the various open mics and TV opportunities we have in this country. 
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The amount of fiery legal hula hoops Lebo M had to jump through to reach this conclusion is offensive to anyone who enjoys good-natured comedy. If this lawsuit goes through and gets a win on any level, then it means Scar beat Simba in the end and the circle of comedy could come to a crashing end.